Many workers have endeavored to design footwear that resists injury to the foot, and especially spraining of the ankle resulting from pronation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,205,206 to Hofmeister, Nov. 21, 1916 for "Foot Protector" proposes an ankle support and an arch support on each side of, and inside of, the shoe pivotally connected to the ankle support to resist such sprains as may occur in the football field. U.S. Pat. No. 1,441,677 to Golden, Jan. 9, 1923 for "Braced Shoe" proposes a swinging side brace vertically extended and a forward brace horizonally extended, swinging in a limited manner around a common pivot on one side only of the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,551 to Petri on July 2, 1965 for "Ankle Brace" suggests that an encircling spring metal braces tightly buckled and pivoting above the malleoli to protect the ankle of a skater.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 2,165,879 to Wilkinson, July 11, 1939 for "Ankle Support" describes a laced canvas and ribbed support which encircles the heel and rear of the foot and is laced in front about the ankle inside the shoe to lend support to the ankle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,428 to Carrier, July 6, 1948, for "Shoe For Sports And The Like" proposes relatively independent upper and lower parts which are separately laced, the upper part being laced both front and back. The Carrier patent also describes a lateral shell of thick and rigid leather on each side to encase the ankle and affixed to an upper part pivotally fixed to a lug below the outside by a rivet. U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,822 to Tanner, Feb. 28, 1961, for "Ankle Support Device" describes a device worn over the wear ing boot. This device includes a tongue attached to an ankle strap, or to the ankle portion of the boot, and at the lower device part to a heel plate. Between these connections and about the ankle is a pair of cooperatting ring portions encircling the ankle (malleoli) allowing rotation of the upper part about the lateral axis of the ankle bone by the cooperating ring ceters, but resisting rotation about a longitudinal axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,271 to Geller for "Reshapeable Boot or Shoe and Method of Reshaping" describes an elastic support anchored laterally to the wearer's shoe near the sole below the ankle and connected laterally above the ankle. This elastic support biases the foot against "turning of the ankle" by tending to prevent stretching of the outer ankle tendons, being under tension when such stretching begins. U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,083 to Carrigan, et al, July 10, 1976, for "Ankle Support" suggests a pliable single piece jacket fitted and laced inside the shoe about foot and ankle by conventional lacing. The jacket encloses on opposite sides elongated stiffening strips in a generally inverted T shape, the inverted base of the T being generally vertically along the leg, the intersection of the T being below the ankle. These strips are aligned generally with the key natural ligaments of the ankle, especially the lateral side of the ankle, whereby the strips reinforce these ligaments.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,265 to Burns, et al, Apr. 10, 1984 is intended to inhibit ankle injuries by a "high cut" athletic boot. A band of stretchable material is anchored at the outside of the boot rearwardly over the dorsal surface of the shoe to the inside of the ankle where it is fastened under tension above the ankle. This band is intended to place the foot in a slightly valgus position reducing stress on the major ligaments yet permitting normal pronation and supination of the forefoot and plantar flexion and dorsiflexion of the foot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,394 to Lindh, et al, June 18, 1985, for "Ankle Ligament Protective Device" describes a protective device comprising a foot plate from the heel portion over the arch, and ankle sleeve with fastening means and fixed around the ankle portion of the foot, and nonextensible flexible connections arranged to connect the ankle sleeve on both sides of the foot to the foot plate, to prevent sideways overstretching movements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,856 to Lin, et al, Feb. 26, 1986, for "Double Laced Athletic Shoe" describes an athletic shoe with a "high topped" upper, laced as usual, and an inner extending from the lateral side of the sole portion of the upper to the medial side portion rearwardly around the ankle to provide support.